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I'm surprised by not seeing more comments against the OP moving from Google to move almost everything to Apple & Facebook. I've also started a similar process b

I'm surprised by not seeing more comments against the OP moving from Google to move almost everything to Apple & Facebook. I've also started a similar process but haven't managed to ditch Google completely yet, mainly for convenience. Because my concern was mainly privacy, I started by adding a pi-hole in the home network and that allowed me to block an infinite number of tracking codes and ads. This improved the overall internet experience for everyone. I've also attached a HDD to the raspberry pi and created a network drive. With the help of a good script the backups are automatic and silent. For messaging, Telegram FTW, but can't seem to convince a lot of my friends to move over.

codethief 6y ago
Why do you use Telegram if you're concerned about privacy?
- lucb1e 6y ago
  I wonder the same. The reason I use Telegram is because it's the only thing I can convince a significant enough number of friends and family to move over to because of the superior user experience and non-Facebook, not because it's the most privacy-friendly solution out there. If I could choose a platform, it would probably be Wire, but the UX is pretty bad and I don't see my mom using that.
  - newscracker 6y ago
    I thought Wire seems to suffer from the “Electron curse” (of being sluggish) on desktop. Then I realized that the app is slow on all platforms, including mobile. Any chat that has more than a few images brings the client to a crawl when scrolling. The company behind Wire also focuses on paying users (the solution targeted for teams and companies). So getting support is close to futile.
    - lucb1e 6y ago
      The business support is also not what one might hope for. The couple Euros we pay per month per user is not enough to get a few minutes of a developer's time so it's very similar to not having any support.
- nunorbatista 6y ago
  Telegram changed in the last couple of years. You can choose between secret chats (e2e encrypted) and normal which are just user-server storage-user encrypted. End-to-end voice calls is also a feature. If you ask me between the Google / Facebook messaging apps (Whatsapp, Messenger, etc) and Telegram, today I'd say Telegram has an advantage because it has a good UI, works across devices and the desktop client works like a charm. For someone that wants to ditch the Google / Facebook environment and be sure their grandmother can use it, I don't see much better options. It's not as faulty as it used to be, but I see the old times made a reputation for it.
  - codethief 6y ago
    > You can choose between secret chats (e2e encrypted) and normal which are just user-server storage-user encrypted. I am aware of that, though I think in the second case it's better to pretend messages are not encrypted at all on the server side since mere storage encryption can be circumvented all too easily. Anyway, having the choice between encryption and no encryption is exactly the problem. How many Telegram users choose e2e-encrypted chats? AFAIK you have to enable this for every conversation separately, right?
    - nunorbatista 6y ago
      Yes, you would still have to create a new "Secret chat" to have the e2e. The reason for that is explored here: https://telegra.ph/Why-Isnt-Telegram-End-to-End-Encrypted-by-Default-08-14 https://telegra.ph/Why-Isnt-Telegram-End-to-End-Encrypted-by... It's their approach and I'm personally ok with it. Due to my friends I use FB messenger a lot and they say it will take years to be e2e encrypted, so I believe it's a fair compromise from Telegram.

codethief 6y ago

Why do you use Telegram if you're concerned about privacy?

lucb1e 6y ago
I wonder the same. The reason I use Telegram is because it's the only thing I can convince a significant enough number of friends and family to move over to because of the superior user experience and non-Facebook, not because it's the most privacy-friendly solution out there. If I could choose a platform, it would probably be Wire, but the UX is pretty bad and I don't see my mom using that.
- newscracker 6y ago
  I thought Wire seems to suffer from the “Electron curse” (of being sluggish) on desktop. Then I realized that the app is slow on all platforms, including mobile. Any chat that has more than a few images brings the client to a crawl when scrolling. The company behind Wire also focuses on paying users (the solution targeted for teams and companies). So getting support is close to futile.
  - lucb1e 6y ago
    The business support is also not what one might hope for. The couple Euros we pay per month per user is not enough to get a few minutes of a developer's time so it's very similar to not having any support.
nunorbatista 6y ago
Telegram changed in the last couple of years. You can choose between secret chats (e2e encrypted) and normal which are just user-server storage-user encrypted. End-to-end voice calls is also a feature. If you ask me between the Google / Facebook messaging apps (Whatsapp, Messenger, etc) and Telegram, today I'd say Telegram has an advantage because it has a good UI, works across devices and the desktop client works like a charm. For someone that wants to ditch the Google / Facebook environment and be sure their grandmother can use it, I don't see much better options. It's not as faulty as it used to be, but I see the old times made a reputation for it.
- codethief 6y ago
  > You can choose between secret chats (e2e encrypted) and normal which are just user-server storage-user encrypted. I am aware of that, though I think in the second case it's better to pretend messages are not encrypted at all on the server side since mere storage encryption can be circumvented all too easily. Anyway, having the choice between encryption and no encryption is exactly the problem. How many Telegram users choose e2e-encrypted chats? AFAIK you have to enable this for every conversation separately, right?
  - nunorbatista 6y ago
    Yes, you would still have to create a new "Secret chat" to have the e2e. The reason for that is explored here: https://telegra.ph/Why-Isnt-Telegram-End-to-End-Encrypted-by-Default-08-14 https://telegra.ph/Why-Isnt-Telegram-End-to-End-Encrypted-by... It's their approach and I'm personally ok with it. Due to my friends I use FB messenger a lot and they say it will take years to be e2e encrypted, so I believe it's a fair compromise from Telegram.